Life presents an endless opportunity for rational choice to confront the weakness of will. This endless challenge defines and shapes us for better or worse. The essence of human behavior change resides at this nexus.
Archive | March, 2013
Improving the Human Condition – Dr. Gibbons at Sanford Cardiology Symposium
I had the good fortune to recently participate in the 2013 Sanford Health Cardiovascular Symposium in Sioux Falls, SD. This is a good story that gets to the heart of health. Sanford Health is the largest rural health care provider in the United States.
Stories Change Perspective
I’m on-location in the Owens Valley, one of the most magnificent landscapes in the world. A good place to demonstrate how important perspective, memories and stories can be.
It’s All About Behavior Change
What do these concepts have in common? Prevention, compliance, marketing, sales, assertive communication, setting limits, and incentives. Look closely. The commonality may not be obvious because they are each associated with diverse areas of endeavor.
Health Literacy and the Laundromat People
When you spend time in a Laundromat, as I have done for the last two years, one thing is immediately obvious: almost everyone there smokes, most are overweight, and many are eating junk food and drinking colas.
Healing Combat Trauma with Humorous Stories and Laughter
The last place you would probably expect to find a standup comedian would be in an Army uniform. But there I was for the better part of a decade, trying to make one of the most dangerous chapters of my life a laughing matter.
The Art and Science of Patient Storytelling for Behavioral Intervention
With the increasing interest in the use of narrative communication as a strategy for influencing health behavior, there has been an effort to develop standardized protocols for creating engaging stories and to determine the successful components of an effective story.
Stories Are The First Simulators
The moon. I am inspired by how it was that we succeeded reaching it’s surface decades ago. Yet years in advance of landing and walking there, astronauts rehearsed for the mission using “simulators.” That’s the connection with stories.
Education and Training Often Don’t Fit the Problem
Contrary to conventional wisdom, education and training are the most common solutions we go to we run up against a performance discrepancy. Guess what. They aren’t as effective as one might think.
Blue Skies Over Battlefields
Life has taught me the importance of telling my story. I can’t afford not to now. Sharing it, I discovered I had value and a purpose.